Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas, everyone!



May God's glory be evident in your lives as you celebrate the birth of His son.

preparation

Getting ready for Christmas:

be inspired

The team over at DCM came up with a brain-stretching dare this time. We were to find something around the house and use it for inspiration! I chose the rug that's in the hallway to our bedroom:

Please ignore the dirt... they say the camera doesn't lie and it's telling the truth of my vacuuming habits... :blush:

Soooo, anyway, here's the card I came up with:

This isn't one of my favorites, I have to admit, but I do like the idea of the challenge. I did rush this one a bit, and don't usually 'whip one out', which I did this time...

Fortunately, not everyone's as picky as I am.

Apis mellifera

The winter edition of Novel Food is here! I quickly whipped out my book log to see what I've read that lends itself easily to a dish (that wasn't a science fiction novel--I kept gravitating towards those, but that's the genre I did last time!) and discovered I had a teen book that needs more press. It's really for just about any age, but often gets lost on library YA shelves, as it's not flashy or been turned into a movie. 

Or endorsed by Oprah.

A Hive for the Honeybee takes a look at what it's like to be a bee and live in a bee community (much like Bee Movie, but not as humorous). This is a lyrical tale that incorporates a lot of fact with the fiction and may inspire you to find a nonfiction book about bees and hives afterward! The illustrations throughout are also enchanting, as the bees have human faces, but overall look like a faerie. The main female character is Thora, who is one of the worker bees of her hive. We also get to know Mo, a drone who questions everything about the hive and its activities, which makes for some interesting food for thought.

Because bees eat, well, honey, I thought it time to recognize this cookbook and choose a recipe from the dessert section: Honey: A Connoisseur's Guide with Recipes (Gene Opton). I made Honey-Vanilla Custard, using buckwheat blossom honey as the base flavor. This would be a great light dessert to serve at your holiday get-togethers, too!

Yield: 8 servings
4 eggs
1/3 c honey (slightly warmed)
2½ c whole milk
¼ t salt
½ t vanilla
whole nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 325º. Butter eight custard cups and prepare a pan of hot water 1 inch deep to hold them. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs lightly and add the honey, milk, salt and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Strain and pour into the cups. Grate nutmeg onto the surface of each. Place the cups in the hot water bath and bake 40 minutes or until the centers barely jiggle. Remove and cool slightly before serving, or chill thoroughly.
My notes: I forgot to strain and almost forgot to grate the nutmeg on top... I did remember to use my small batter bowl from Pampered Chef for pourability, which I highly recommend. Pour spouts make getting the custard into little cups so much easier! And mine took a little longer to bake since the red cups are deeper--I think I'll use my white cups next time.

Buckwheat honey can be a substitute for molasses.

Book recommendation: A Hive for the Honeybee by Soinbhe Lally
Recipe recommendation: Honey-Vanilla Custard
Movie recommendation: Bee Movie

Open House

For those in the area:


Looking for that last minute Christmas gift? Got unexpected guests or people that are hard to buy for? Then come to an Open House with all kinds of fun handmade gifts, and support local artisans! We'll have quilted items, mittens, goat milk products, embroidery, crocheted items and all kinds of greeting cards. Questions? Send us an email.
10:00 - 4:00
Saturday, December 13
8030 Ridgeway Drive
Burlington, WI 53105

progress

Okay, before I get into this post, I'd better give you the links to the initial phases, just in case you want to see the progression:

Phase 1
Phase 2

Chip's been a busy beaver downstairs lately, especially since we decided on a light for the center and the laminate came in for the countertops. My dad came over and spent a day helping with wiring, so now 'my' half of the basement is on it's own switch. And the storage room behind my room has it's own light--first time in a couple of years!

See our lovely chairs? They are quite tall, so Chip has to do some more thinking about how the center table will look. He originally wanted to do something with storage built in (with holes for your legs), but that might look too bulky. We saw a few examples in various furniture catalogs like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.

And don't worry--the overflow room will have normal height tables with normal height chairs.

This is along the back wall and will have more cabinets above. All the way to the right of this photo is where I'll have my stamp drawers--we got a major deal on some old typeset drawers, but I'll have to do a little reconfiguring, as many stamps are bigger than type... The sliding doors towards the left of the picture may be changed, too, as Chip keeps mentioning the need for accent colors. So I suggested he paint them a red/burgundy instead. We'll see what happens.

And I couldn't do a post about my future craft room without something crafty, so here's the sample craft I made for the library presentation I'm doing next week:

This is a rather brown post...

Book recommendation: The Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
Recipe recommendation: Poires Pochées á Citronelle
Movie recommendation: The Nativity

book commission

I've been asked to do a blank baby book for a friend's sister-in-law! Since the time I did the first, I've been gathering ideas for various layouts for my own stuff, so I'm excited to be able to use some of it for this book, as a few things don't work with the types of photos I've been scrapping lately. And to see how it looks on a page, rather than just a sketch or in a magazine.

This time I added a few more pages for friends and family pictures, rather than trying to figure out which holidays and other fun things to include. This made it much easier in some respects!

I do regret no bathtime page, though.

Overall, it's made me itchy to get scrapping my own stuff (like Napa!) and try different things with my layouts. So, I'll be heading to a scrapbook store to find the appropriate album and papers and things! :wink:

Need a scrapbook? Contact me!

Book recommendation: The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Recipe recommendation: Gingerbread Scones
Website recommendation: Creating Keepsakes

innovational

I've been asked to do a Summer Reading Program (SRP) presentation for the folks in the Winnefox system (that's Oshkosh area) on December 2, so I borrowed a manual from Rhonda and spent a morning going through it to see what's been suggested, what I'll pull out of it to highlight and what I'll suggest on top of the manual. And I want to give a quick shout-out to the author of chapter seven: Carissa the librarian. Her chapter is the most organized and has the best layout of possible plans and ideas for programming. I was very impressed with her little bits about early literacy tie-ins as well. Yea!

The theme is creativity and has TONS of room for fun stuff, no matter what your talents are. So I'll talk about a writing class, a dance preschool storytime (sharing a full routine), the myriad of possiblities of special musical guests, Reader's Theater and storytelling ideas and some arts and crafts programs (including the Tag You're It challenge, which I might use as one of our activities of the morning).

I sent an email to Donna Downey to ask some tips (especially about her books and especially because she's running a campaign for creativity--see that little aqua box on my sidebar?), so we'll see what comes of that.

So now I'm off to refine the whole thing, put holds on materials to review them and pracitice; I hope I don't rush through the presentation. This is an exciting theme, so that helps me be enthusiastic about telling folks what they could do. If I have time, I'll recruit some kids to try out some things...

Clipart is from Discovery Education.

Book recommendation: Creative Albums by Donna Downey
Recipe recommendation: Apple Stuffed French Toast
New product recommendation: Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown

finger food

I really like to make snacks. I'm not exactly sure why, but perhaps some of it has to do with the ability to create several dishes for folks to enjoy. And autumn snacks seem to be in abundance in my recipe books, foodie blogroll and clippings folders...

Jen and I decided to have some fun nibbles available at our Craft Open House this past weekend, and we took advantage of all the fun stuff you can cook up for treats when doing something fallish. Because of apple season, one thing I made was Dutch Apple tarts.


Then, due to weather turning colder (yea for soup, stew and potpie season!), I also chose to make a savory selection. I'm the type that can't resist peeking into the oven while things are baking. I know you're supposed to just turn on the light and look through the window, but I always open up the door a crack...
Perhaps some of the fascination with snacks has to do with the smallness of the food (mini cheese muffins--aren't they cute!?!). I've loved miniature things most of my life (The Littles, anyone?)...

And then, with Chip's help, I made pumpkin fudge. I tried this last year and failed. It tasted great but never 'fudged'. You have to stir this forever before it hits soft ball stage, and that might be where I went wrong before, as I probably gave up or thought I had hit it (but didn't really).



It makes a lot, so be sure to have ample places to share if you plan to make this recipe...

I realized I probably never shared the Korean Daisies in bloom!

Book recommendation: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Recipe recommendation: Pumpkin Fudge
Parody recommendation: Demotivation Posters

store update

Woo-hoo! It's here! The store update has been completed, with a new guest artist--check her out on the Odds n' Ends page. She does beaded jewelry:







And don't forget to order Christmas cards--if you have a special order or want several to send out to family and friends, be sure to send me an email so I can get those done on time for you.
Here's an idea for those of you giving gift cards this year--don't just use that plain boring envelope it comes with--dress it up! Several styles are available, but here's one example:

trek

Representatives of the Burlington wine club took a trip to Napa Valley to explore wine country (in the United States). Here's a small taste of that trip:

We took 250 photos... just on our camera!

Book recommendation: The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
Recipe recommendation:Pasta with Bell Peppers
Wine recommendation: Captain's Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (Rubicon)

forever autumn

Hey! I'm actually ready for another dare this week! I felt I especially should participate in the DCM seasonal dares, as I did the other two. [grin] Might as well round it out!

I made this card a while ago, when Jen and I thought we were going to sell stuff at the Burlington Farmer's Market, but life got busy, so we ended up skipping that venue. We may do it next year, though.

I seem to really like this truck for autumnal things... I'm using it a lot... It's just such a good vehicle for carrying things (yes, pun intended--I'm giggling right now).

give thanks

A new challenge to participate in: Salt. They post a challenge every two weeks, but often I find myself at a loss with what I can do, and don't take the time to figure out a way to participate. This time, though, I had an idea right away.

The current challenge is to focus on giving thanks. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to focus on making sure God gets His due, especially when faced with friends/family that don't acknowledge Him every day.
Last year we were able to host and I'm quite thankful for all the friends and family that can celebrate with us, as well as for our house, which we can share with others. We had lots of great food, plenty of good conversation and an enjoyable evening. I'm not sure what's happening this year, but wherever we are, we'll be sure to give thanks.

unbend

I'm going to share our weekend at Devil's Lake with the Debbinks via photos, as a picture is worth a thousand words. It was a fabulous time--we had perfect weather and enjoyed exploring all kinds of activities at the state park. I haven't seen Chip this relaxed in a while, so that was a bonus as well.

I hadn't been to Devil's Lake in years!

Book recommendation: Old Bear by Kevin Henkes
Recipe recommendation: BB's Spareribs
YouTube recommendation: Lindsay Mac

approaching

Here are a few upcoming events:

1. Camping at Devil's Lake
Chip, Andy, Danielle, Gracie and I are going to enjoy the fall colors up at Devil's Lake Friday and Saturday. We're taking the kayaks and hoping to hike and bike. I haven't been there in ages, so it will be fun.

2. Korean Daisies blooming

3. Vacation in Napa Valley
Just in case you hadn't heard, Chip and I and two other couples are spending a few days in CA visiting wine country! It'll be a packed trip (so many activities planned), but we're all looking forward to it.

release

All kinds of exciting stamping news!


First of all, I'm a winner over at Daring Card Makers! Wheeeeee!


Secondly, I got a new paisley punch and was thrilled it came the very next day. I tested it out on white cardstock, and immediately thought of a handkerchief motif. Thank you cards are always useful, so I followed the theme with a relatively simple layout:



That center part pops up a little, in case it's hard to see.


Thirdly, Jen and I are hosting/organizing a craft open house on Saturday, November 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will be at my house and will feature several different crafty folk, selling all kinds of unique gifts. You can stock up for Christmas or baby showers or birthdays or what have you. We'll have a little more information when we're closer to the event. Of course, you can always email us with questions--use the contact form at Stamp n' Stitch.

I'm frantically working on Christmas cards.

Book recommendation: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Recipe recommendation: Grilled Potato and Summer Squash Salad with Marjoram-Lemon Vinaigrette
Restaurant recommendation: Mi Cocina